by A. J. Sand
“My mom taught. I always thought she was amazing at what she did. I just really liked the way her students felt about her. She still gets letters from people she taught twenty years ago. In a world of seven billion, so few of us get a chance to make a noticeable impact on someone’s life. She made a huge one on mine, too, and I just want to pass it on.”
She smiled without looking over at him as she flipped through the clothes, not turning around because she could feel his stare nailed to her back. Several times now, she had caught him firing a look her way without letting it fall away. And every time, it set off a flare inside of her.
“You and your sister must be really close if you want to do this for her.”
“I literally have no memory from before she was born.”
“Naomi says the same thing. It was just me and her for a long time.”
Gabi, a sales associate and friend of Erica’s, waved her over to the back of the store. She had an outfit for her, of course. Gabi was an aspiring stylist who loved making Erica play dress up with her. Erica approached with a questioning glance, and Gabi whipped out a dress, but turned her immediate attention—and raised eyebrows—to Matt. “So, who’s that?”
Something about her tone made heat dash across Erica’s face from cheek to cheek until they were both stained red. “Just a friend, Gabi.”
“Like a…gay friend? A friend you’re helping shop for his girlfriend? Or a single friend for Gabi?”
“A friend,” Erica said. “Just a friend.”
“Oh, good, because the girls in the store were wondering what was going on lately with you...and Bryson. We sort of heard he was back on the market through some... ‘friend heard from a friend heard from a friend’ kinda thing. You guys were doing the long distance thing last year, right? Or just taking a break? You weren’t really banging Kai White on the side this whole time, right?” Gabi’s gaze was still locked to Matt, so she was completely unaware of Erica’s display of irritation. She imagined even if Dylan and Kai got married at some point down the line and had lots of babies, the rumors about her and Kai would persist. “I mean I wouldn’t judge you if you were screwing him because, praise the Lord, I’d worship at your vagina.”
“Gabi,” Erica warned in a low tone, but Gabi missed the accompanying eye roll since Matt was still captivating her. And maybe, just maybe somewhere in the depths of her belly, she was a little jealous. He was her fantasy.
“Anyway, Us Weekly had pictures of Bryson and that new girl, Stazia, who sings for Silver Method all over L.A, and she’s cute and all—even though I think the way she shakes her ass that music video is a bit much—but she’s basically still coughing up amniotic fluid. Didn’t she just graduate from high school or something? The silicone in her implants is probably older than she is.”
Erica had seen her in magazines, too, and her herd of horses’ worth of extensions. But she was talented, and Erica knew that was the only reason Bryson was interested in her. She totally wasn’t his type. Yup. Totally not. She took the dress from Gabi and held it up, hoping to redirect her curiosity from Matt and Bryson. But she especially didn’t want to talk about Bryson. “What’s this?”
With some obvious reluctance, Gabi turned cheerful eyes back to Erica. “Oh! Something I’ve been holding for you. We got them on Tuesday, and you have to get it. God. It’s so pretty! And since you weren’t cursed with birthing hips since puberty like some of us, it’s going to look awesome on you.”
It was cute and stretchy and hit about knee-length. A black and white hourglass-shaped tribal print ran down the center front and back, but the sides were solid black. “Gabi…I…can’t…” But, holy shit, she wanted to. She loved anything with a cool print.
“Please?! I need to live vicariously through you! Your best friend’s a rock star, so wear it to a concert or something…and think about all the places you can wear it with Bryson…” Gabi trailed off into an urging, dreamy smile. “He’s going to love that.”
There was a time when she’d be in here looking for the perfect knockout outfit to make Bryson lose his place in a sentence when he saw her all dolled up. Erica felt like she had been kicked in the chest…after falling off a cliff. But she tried to mimic Gabi’s smile. “Yup, you’re so right, but I’m way too sweaty to try it on.”
“No problem!” Gabi steered her toward the dressing rooms. “Because you’re going to buy it once you see how amazing you look. Trust me.” She leaned in to Erica’s ear. “And my employee discount might find its way into the total, too.”
Shoved into one of the rectangular rooms with the door shut in her face, Erica really had no time to object. “Fine! I’m trying it on, but definitely not buying, Gabi!” Erica stripped out of her workout clothes and pulled the dress up all her slim frame.
Damn Gabi.
“Whoa.” It was stunning, almost seemingly made for her body. “Wow.” Erica spun and looked at it in the dressing room mirror from the back. She had the perfect pair of shoes for it.
“Wow?! Wow? Get your ass out here!” Gabi demanded. Erica stepped out into the short hallway and walked up to the larger mirror that dead-ended the dressing room. Gabi’s reflection hopped up and down behind her, squealing. “I’m so good at this!”
“Hey, Erica, what about…um…what…wow.” Matt’s sneakers squeaked to a halt at the entrance of the dressing room. Erica giggled at the reflection of his startled expression, which he fought to contain as she walked toward him, but he only got more stunned the closer she got.
Stumbling male tongue? Check. The one she wanted? Maybe not so check? “What’s up?” she asked.
“No… the question is what do you think? Your kind always knows what looks good on a woman,” Gabi said, winking at Matt and insisting that Erica twirl around.
“My kind?” Matt’s scrunched brows shot up.
“Gabi, don’t be offensive.” In the mirror, Matt’s gaze dropped down the length of her body, and it was still crawling back up by the time she completed the rotation. Damn those eyes.
Gabi dashed into the dressing room Erica had just been in and grabbed her cell. Like always, she snapped a picture of Erica because it usually helped her make up her mind later.
“She looks beautiful,” Matt said to Gabi, but when he turned to Erica, he dissolved into a fluttering smile and flushed skin. “You, uh…you look beautiful.”
“Thanks,” Erica said, noting how the praising words had not matched his tone. She didn’t doubt his sincerity, but rather, had picked up on the sadness in his voice.
Almost like longing.
“Wow, Erica, you’re so hot he’s ready to play for the other team.” Patting her on either side of her waist, Gabi added, “Get the dress, babe…or you can’t leave the store.” She strolled away to attend to new customers, and Erica retreated to the dressing to change back into her yoga clothes as a ping sounded on her cell. It was a text from Naomi. She admired herself once more in the dress, and while she had been pleased by Matt’s response, she desired Bryson’s much more. A devastating observation tightened her stomach before she peeled it off. It really would’ve been nice for date night. Even if it was just under a tent with twinkle lights.
“So, what did you want to show me?” she asked Matt when she walked out.
“Oh, right…” Matt smiled. And it stayed. “…This one?” He held up a necklace, hopeful. Three clusters of various sized yellow stones draped down on a black-plated chain, ending in a single stone at the bottom.
Erica scrunched her lips and pulled them off to the side when she looked up from her text message from Naomi, who informed her that she was parking. “Ugly.”
Matt chuckled. “Whoa. We’re regressing now? The last two were at least ‘meh’ and ‘okay’!” Matt said, playfully indignant, before hanging his head in defeat. He sighed as he walked back over to the display case, and she muffled her laughter behind her palm as she walked to a rack of Pillar & Co.’s signature long, patterned skirts. “And you’re laughing! Well, that gives me h
ope that we might actually be on our way to being friends, if you’re comfortable making fun of me to my face.” He winked when he approached.
Friends. Yes, she liked his use of the word. And maybe it was premature, but she felt like having him in the trauma-sensitive yoga class formed a connection between them that she didn’t have with her group of friends. In a way, she had been searching for something like this.
“That one was gaudy, Matt. You’ve shown me several pictures of your sister, and I think I’m clear on her taste by now. She likes earth tones and simple designs. There’s no way she’d go for that,” Erica said as a consolatory explanation just as another text message came in.
Naomi: Where are you?
Erica: Pillar. Meet me and we’ll go to Maggiano’s.
Naomi: K.
“Earth tones,” he repeated, like she had spoken something other than English. “Simple.” He walked up a few minutes later and presented another necklace in a way reminiscent of the scene in The Lion King when baby Simba is anointed on the rock ledge. Erica snickered, but he wowed her when he lowered his hands and placed the piece of jewelry in hers. A plain gold chain held an antique finish coral pendant rimmed with a thin circle of gold. It was perfect.
“Well?” He was self-assured this time, and the sexy one-side-of-the-mouth lip curl reappeared. His moments of awkwardness were endearing, but she liked this side of him much more.
“You have done well, my student,” Erica said, patting him on the shoulders, and his eyes bulged out in surprise; it was clearly more from her touch than the positive appraisal of the necklace. Erica wasn’t sure if her hands had lingered longer than they should have, but there was a snap of silence when she lowered them before they both let out weak laughs that unraveled into more silence. This was only going to get worse.
When the odd moment passed, he yelled, “Finally!” Then he lifted both arms like a ref signaling a touchdown.
“I’m impressed. Really.” Erica walked over to a mirror and held the necklace up against her chest. “Actually, I may want this, and Gabi loves me, so don’t think I won’t have her ring this up when you’re not looking,” she joked.
“Probably won’t look as good as that dress, but let’s see what it looks like on you,” he said with a wink.
Erica tilted her head and shifted skeptical eyes to him. “To get it for myself instead of you getting it for your sister?” Was he just trying too hard right now?
“Whoa, I didn’t say that.” Matt held up his hands. “Not even a girl as pretty as you, Erica, is going to stop me from getting it.” Flashes of heat roamed her skin, but she did a much better job of disguising her reaction to his bolder attempts at flirting.
He offered his hand for the necklace. “Let me.”
She hesitated for a beat, but Erica gathered her hair on one side when Matt moved to stand behind her. They smiled at each other when he unfastened the clasp, pulled the chain apart into a V and laid the pendant on her chest. His soft fingers brushed the back of her neck, setting of a stream of electricity through her body as he refastened it, and she studied him in the seconds that his eyes were off hers. She was still trying to get a grasp on his personality, the way he swayed between bouts of anxiety in his interactions with her and the moments he managed to weave in effortless charm.
“There.” He squeezed her arms on either side, his warm breath blowing across her shoulder. It felt good. Too good. Erica let her hair swing back in place.
“Your sister is gonna love it, even though it would be perfect with my dress,” she teased after Matt stepped back, brushing her thumb over the pendant.
“And you really looked amazing in it.”
Someone nearby cleared their throat behind them, and as they both turned toward the sound, Erica’s eyes settled on a pair of judgmental brown ones that resembled hers on a face framed by a mane of dark auburn waves. Naomi was leaning against a rack of clothes, splitting an aggravated, inquisitive look between them. She was unreservedly Team Bryson, so Erica imagined that the sight of the two of them was not only disheartening but also distressing. Even if she had explained that Matt had thrown himself in front of her as a shield to bullets, nothing would be good enough. Naomi shot a shameless glare—furrowed brow included—at Matt that Erica found more humorous than uncomfortable. But she got the sense that Matt was far less entertained, and maybe seconds away from fleeing, as the color drained from his skin.
“Oh! Hey! Didn’t even see you come in,” Erica said. Naomi’s arms enclosed her and tightened until her lips were right at her ear. She was squeezing her with so much might that it felt like Naomi was testing her ability to overpower her in case she decided to choke her.
“Yeah, you seemed pretty preoccupied, sis,” Naomi said with clenched teeth.
“Just helping out a friend, you know, like I did with Fitz last night when you asked…”
Naomi wasn’t smiling when they pulled apart, but some of the obvious signs of anger had cleared from her face. Her eyes kept darting over Erica’s shoulder, presumably to keep Matt in her sights as though he were some loose wild animal. “He looks familiar. Where do I know him from?”
Erica pivoted until Matt came into view. He was back at the jewelry case, looking down at the pieces inside. “I don’t know. We only met three weeks ago in my yoga class.”
“And now you two are shopping together in a women’s clothing store? Why?” Naomi asked as she sidestepped Erica, her gaze still spearing Matt. “How come you didn’t tell me about him?” With apprehensive steps, Naomi walked toward him.
“There was nothing to tell, Mimi! And if I had anything to hide, would I have asked you to meet me here?” Erica said as she tried not to get defensive. “I could have gone straight to Maggiano’s or made some excuse. People up to no good usually don’t invite spectators.”
Naomi looked frustrated when she couldn’t find anything to counter with, and she fidgeted with the strap of her handbag. “Fine. Introduce me to Mr. Nothing To Tell.”
A shiver of worry stirred in Erica and she held her sister’s arm before Naomi could take any more steps. She didn’t want her to be mean to him, but she also wondered if Naomi’s instincts would pick up on their flirtatious behavior. And no matter how meaningless it had seemed before, it now made Erica feel guilty. Thank goodness she was out of the dress because who knows what Naomi would’ve inferred if she had walked into the store a little earlier.
“You can’t be rude. Please,” Erica pleaded.
“I just want to meet the guy who’s ignoring your engagement ring,” Naomi said, wriggling out of Erica’s grasp, determined to confront Matt.
“Is it even really still that?” she whispered to no one as she trailed her, and she slipped into the space between them, prepared to mediate the introduction. “Matt, this is my sister, Naomi. Naomi, this is Matt. I was helping him find something for his sister.”
“How are you?” Matt aimed a guarded smile alongside his hand at Naomi, and she looked at it like he had offered her a blood-covered animal carcass instead.
“Hungry,” Naomi said flatly. “A lot like your eyes.”
Erica snorted into embarrassed laughter. “Wow. Okay, she’s quoting eighties songs in normal conversation. We should go. Hope the gift works out.” Erica gave the necklace back to him before guiding her sister toward the exit. A hand patted her shoulder before they were outside the store, and Erica expected that maybe it was Gabi about to cajole her into buying the dress again, but it was Matt who stepped up to her side. Naomi didn’t even bother to mask her unfriendliness when she realized why they had stopped walking.
“I’ll meet you at Maggiano’s,” she said curtly, before she walked off without a good-bye to Matt. Erica rolled her eyes as she watched her go. She didn’t mind her sister taking on an unshakeable and protective stance with Bryson—she loved that someone else still had hope—but she could not condone her rudeness toward every man who wasn’t him.
“How will I let you know if my sister lik
es it?” Matt asked, but he let out a heavy sigh in exasperation before she could respond. “Okay, I should just say what I mean. No more chasing you down with pens or…finding convoluted ways to ask if I can give you my phone number.” Oh crap. Erica’s heart shimmied down into her stomach then lurched back up into her throat. “I had fun looking for that necklace with you. I’m about to go home to my quiet apartment, and that really sucks. I really want us to be friends…if that’s what you want, too. It’s up to you if you want to call, but…I want to see you again, Erica.”
The whites of his eyes stretched as she dragged out the silence, unsure of what to say. Her first instinct was to just find a polite way to decline, as the memory of Naomi’s earlier behavior skated through her thoughts, but she relented to the empathetic tugging in her chest. Making friends as an adult could be difficult, and he really did seem lonely. On the way to Pillar & Co., he had told her about adjusting to not being able to just drive to his parents’ house in Cambridge, Massachusetts or his sister’s apartment near Brown University, from where he lived in Medford, Massachusetts. His friends had relocated all over the country after graduation, marriages and new jobs, but no one he knew lived in California. And maybe she just wanted to see him again, too.
Erica pulled her cell from her bag and smiled warmly. “Yeah. Sure. I don’t mind taking your number at all.”
Matt recited it for her without restraining his excitement. “Have a great time with your sister.”
“Thanks. Enjoy the rest of your day.” Erica flashed a casual parting smile at him before he walked back into the store, but there was something else under it too, though, no matter how much she tried to disregard it. She was attracted to him, and it was still just a pinch of a feeling, a little jolt in her side, but it was there.
